The Snake Handler
—After Dennis Covington
I’m not long for this
world, the young man
said nonchalantly.
The next night I
watch him at church. Why
would one take up
death, suicide? He
grasps the rattler
from the wooden box.
Horrified, I
can’t look away. He
lifts the serpent
slithering, tongue out
straight in my face—
all the madness and
insanity
of my faith I’ve tried
to keep hidden.
.
by Will Wellman
from Echotheo Review
4/30/2014